HCW selects property manager for Downtown Evansville convention hotel

JASON CLARK / COURIER &amp; PRESS
Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke speaks to members of the regional business community during the “Lunch with the Mayor” event sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana Wednesday at the Evansville Country Club.

2013 Jason Clark / Evansville Courier &amp; Press

Courtesy of Beam, Longest and Neff L. L. C
Artist renderings of the U. S. 41 bridges over the Lloyd Expressway at the U. S. 41 and Lloyd Expressway interchange were unveiled at the annual Chamber of Commerce “Lunch with the Mayor.”

JASON CLARK / COURIER &amp; PRESS
Members of the regional business community converse before “Lunch with the Mayor” featuring Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke Wednesday at the Evansville Country Club.

2013 Jason Clark / Evansville Courier &amp; Press

EVANSVILLE - Evansville's Downtown convention hotel project is making progress, though the physical groundbreaking won't take place until next month.

Branson, Mo.-based developer HCW has selected Pillar Hotels and Resorts to be the property manager for the Evansville hotel, which will be a 253-room Hilton DoubleTree hotel located adjacent to The Centre and the Ford Center.

"The project is moving forward," Mayor Lloyd Winnecke said Wednesday during a speech at a Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana event. His remarks focused on the progress of several major projects underway in Evansville, among them the Downtown hotel.

Winnecke said a groundbreaking will happen in December, though the exact date has not been set. The hotel is expected to open in the fall of 2015.

Based in suburban Dallas, Pillar manages more than 200 hotels in 35 states, including Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.

"They've got seasoned employees, the regional people are a good fit for the Evansville/Midwest market," said Bob Allen, HCW's vice president of operations.

"They're just a solid company with a solid track record."

Pillar manages HCW's Hampton Inn & Suites in Scottsdale, Ariz., and it will also manage a Residence Inn HCW is developing in Tucson, Allen said.

Later this month, Pillar representatives will visit Evansville to meet with the Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau and other entities to coordinae the groups' hotel sales and marketing efforts.

"We'll share contacts and networking," Allen said.

"All of us need to be on the same page."

Last month the Evansville City Council unanimously approved $20 million in public financing for the hotel. The total project, which is also to include a 78-unit apartment tower, parking garage, sky bridges and other upgrades will cost $71.3 million. In addition to the city's contribution, HCW will commit nearly $40 million and a group of private investors led by Old National Bank will contribute $11.5 million.

Bob Warren, the CVB's executive director, said his sales team has already begun promoting the hotel, but having a property manager in place will make that job easier.

"Every step that we're making is a step in the right direction," Warren said.

Between now and the hotel's opening, Pillar will also be working to learn the local market, said Susan Schmidt, Pillar's vice president of legal services.

"There's a lot of things that go into the planning of a hotel. You need to know the local area to understand the little nuances. Something that works in California may not work in Evansville."

"Our part is to make sure that when the hotel is open, it's ready to go gangbusters when it opens," Schmidt said.

Winnecke also mentioned numerous other projects, including the planned upgrades to the Lloyd Expressway/U.S. 41 interchange.

He revealed artist's renderings of the project, which is to include include a full cloverleaf ramp design, "City of Evansville" signs on the U.S. 41 overpass; a new pedestrian walkway over the Lloyd Expressway east of U.S. 41; a paved pedestrian trail to Oak Hill Road; and landscaping.

A request for bids is set to go out Dec. 15, with project completion in August 2015.